Oct. 6, 2010

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State men's soccer team will host its first Pacific-10 Conference games of the season against California at 7 p.m. Friday and Stanford at 1 p.m. Sunday at Paul Lorenz Field.

The Beavers (6-3-0, 1-1-0 Pac-10) moved up to No. 9 in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com Far West Regional Rankings after defeating San Diego State and falling to UCLA last weekend on the road. Five Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 11 of the poll with California at No. 2, UCLA at No. 3, San Diego State at No. 4 and Washington at No. 11.

California (5-1-2, 1-0-0) has a five-game unbeaten streak and is ranked No. 14 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and No. 19 by both College Soccer News and Soccer America. Goalkeeper David Bingham ranks 12th in the nation with a 0.88 save percentage.

"Cal is on a hot streak right now and potentially one of the hottest teams in the country," Oregon State head coach Steve Simmons said. "They are always a handful and have some players who are big-time difference makers. We're going to have a heck of a challenge on Friday night, but we are looking forward to it."

Stanford (4-5-0, 0-1-0) had a four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday in a hard-fought 3-0 loss to the Golden Bears. The Cardinal had defeated USF, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's College and Denver during its winning streak.

"The second game on a Pac-10 weekend says a lot about a team and that will be a challenge for us to test our mental and physical ability," Simmons said. "We are looking forward to getting something out of this weekend, especially at home, and I know the kids are excited to be at home. We are looking forward to it."

Oregon State is second in the Pac-10 with 1.89 goals per game and 4.67 saves per game. Junior goalkeeper Steve Spangler is second in the conference with 42 saves and 4.67 saves per game.

"Like I said all along from day one, we are a young team this year," Simmons said. "There are a lot of guys playing in their first year and getting their first taste of Pac-10 soccer. They have to grow quickly. So far it's okay, but I think we have more left in the tank."

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